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I've laid the Scot Gov's Budget revision, showing investment of £4bn in responding to Covid. That includes £620m for the NHS, £2.3bn in business funding and £350m community support. We've responded quickly, and our financial support exceeds the UK Gov funding we've received. /1
Total received from the UK Gov is £3.5bn-its v welcome. Risk is that UK Gov funding is still estimates, as we discovered this week as £70m that had been promised by UK Gov was withdrawn. We'd already passed that funding on to businesses & charities, but now we won't receive it /2
That kind of uncertainty, of funding promised and then withdrawn, makes it v difficult to budget when the Scot Gov doesn't have the tools to manage uncertainty. We don't have powers to borrow revenue to meet shortfalls and don't get guarantees on Barnett consequentials. /3
Two choices-either UK G needs to guarantee sufficient funding to cover the costs or give us the fiscal tools to manage uncertainty. The first might be hard-but the second isn't. Most Govs in the world are battling Covid with fiscal powers and flexibilities that we don't have. /4
Every year, the Scot Gov balances its budget-we are not allowed, by law, to overspend. There are many demands just now, including more support for business. I'm v sympathetic, but unless we get powers to create headroom or UK G passes on more funding, it will be challenging. /5
Lastly, I leave you with impressive proposals like this - backed by a former permanent secretary to three UK chancellors. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/radical-proposal-for-scotland-to-borrow-extra-billions-5mtmp3chg /6
